Canonical, the company which was developing the phone, said there were some positive takeaways from the crowdfunding drive, which was hosted on the website Indiegogo.

"If you watch the reaction to the product and the speed at which pledges were made, and the fact we broke records, it proves the need and desire for a device like this," Jane Silber, Canonical's CEO told CNBC.

Silber said the project was the first of its kind and this may have put off potential investors.

"Canonical still gained tremendous exposure in the media, they've also established a relationship with a large number of people that did pledge to back the device which, they didn't have previously. So in that sense, it has been a success for them," Fogg told CNBC.

The phone isn't completely dead. The company is turning its attention to releasing a more stripped-down version of the phone in the first quarter of 2014 using the traditional route of finding external hardware manufacturers and teaming up with network providers.

The new phone won't be the "formula one" Ubuntu Edge-style device, according to Silber, and it will be aimed at more of a mass market. Mobile operators could back the device as they seek more competition and a larger choice of devices.